Eco Tiny House, a workshop in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania has built itself a name across Europe for designing and creating hip and stylish, minimalist mobile homes for those wanting to downsize or hide away from the world.
Have you ever thought about what a liberating experience it would be to leave the usual grind and the stress of the city life behind and keep only the belongings you really need? The wish for downsizing is one of the reasons more and more people are seeking out the projects of the Eco Tiny House company.
While the tiny house trend originates from the U.S., it is growing more and more popular in Europe with people who wish to be closer to nature and lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Tiny houses are built on a trailer, so they can be towed anywhere. They can provide extra space, or can be a cool and affordable holiday home, a starting house for a new family or in case of businesses, mobile bakery, art studio or bike rental base.
The beginnings
The dreamer behind Eco Tiny House is Botond Szakács, a young civil engineer, who built his very first tiny house for himself, with the help of his friends. After some more initial projects, he was ready to change careers and start his own company. The Eco Tiny House workshop is now located in Miercurea Ciuc, Transylvania, Romania, with about 30 employees, fulfilling orders from all around Europe, with plans to double or triple their building capacity in the near future.
How it is made
Eco Tiny House’s 400m2 workshop has capacity for 4 houses to be built at once, which means many people work in a small space at the same time, inside and outside the houses. Mobility is key for them: that is why they prefer to go cordless. Bosch Professional cordless tools give them freedom and efficiency. Cordless mobility is also key in the delivery and installation of the tiny houses, as they are often set up off grid, in the wild.
Since Eco Tiny House works mainly with wood, they use cordless saws, drills and drivers every day. For cutting, they prefer the GCM 18V-216 cordless mitre saw, that is mobile, light and accurate. During assembly their go to saw is the GSA 18 LIsabre saw, that lets them reach tight spaces and make precise cuts.
For driving, they choose the GDX 18V-200 impact driver, which has a short head and light weight for mobility, and a 2-in-1 bit holder that has an internal hex and an external square drive to guarantee flexibility to do the widest range of jobs.
Would you dare to build it yourself?
The team welcomes 3 to 4 teams of amateur guest builders every year, who work on their own tiny projects on site. Eco Tiny House provides plans, materials, Bosch Professional tools and a dedicated colleague to guide and help them. And for the really dedicated DIYers, Eco Tiny House also sells ‘Build your own’ kits, with all the necessary materials and plans for a simpler tiny house model.
Tiny business
For businesses, Eco Tiny House created the Tiny Bakery model, which is ideal for selling baked goods on busy squares and festivals. Their newest endeavour is a bike rental franchise, where Eco Tiny House teamed up with a bike rental company to provide e-bikes and a trailer which serves as a charging and storage base.
Comfy and gentle on nature
The eco-friendly approach is reflected in the design and the manufacturing as well. The raw wooden exteriors blend gently into the natural environment. 80% of the materials used is pinewood, and while not all of it is sourced locally, to compensate for the houses’ carbon footprint, the team regularly plant trees in the nearby forest.
But environmentally friendly does not mean nomadic. Most of the 15 or so models come with a compost toilet, a kitchen and a bathroom with warm water and heating, that may be connected to gas, water and electricity, or they can operate with solar panels or gas tanks, with the well-insulated walls and windows maximizing energy efficiency. Buyers can even choose a fireplace using wood or pellets.
The tiny space brings a further environmental benefit: it inspires downsizing and avoiding buying new stuff that could easily clutter up the house and later, end up in a landfill. On 11–25m2 you’ll think twice about every new purchase.
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